Harry Potter DVD £6.71 Vs Blu Ray £16.98

[admin_exported]

Another reason to still get DVD over Blu Ray

These are the prices right now on Amazon

Recently I also bought the 3 Santa Clause movies plus Galaxy Quest on DVD at £5.00 each at HMV in the high street and I have to say that the picture quality on all 4 DVD's is excellent especially on Santa Clause 3 and Galaxy Quest...in my view reference quality for DVD

The only time I will fork out £16.00 for a Blu Ray is if I know for a fact that the movie has either been remastered or shot in HD to begin with...EG: From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, It's a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz , 1951 version of A Christmas Carol with Alistair Sims -Region free from the US

 

[Clare Newsome]

You're leaving sound out of the equation: even if you've the best visual upscaling in the world, you're never going to benefit from the greatly enhanced sonic benefits of going Blu-ray...

..... now that's less of an issue with older movies that weren't mixed in surround sound, but with modern movies like Harry Potter it's a key point.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Clare that the sound is stunning, but lets be honest we are just paying over the top for what is still viewed as a new media. Roll on 10 years time when there will be something new and BluRay's are £5.00 per disc !

There again though, on the honest front - we will probably buy the new media along with the holographic projector to go with it or we will all be born with an in built USB socket somewhere on our person (hopefully somewhere discreet) and download direct.

Copyright that !

 

[lobby]

I totally agree with Clare on sound quality and pq is still improved, and yes price gaps are still big on newer titles, but you won't want to have to buy them all again on blu-ray as this format is growing every month. Look for deals on films and buy blockbusters youll watch over and over. Also boxsets, trilogy's are the way to go for example: Harry Potter 1-6 £34.99 under £6 a film, Matrix £15, Bourne Trilogy, Ocean 11,12,13, Underworld the list goes on, or do what i do buy cheap dvds from 20p to £1 at bootsales, mostly OOP, if poss and then wait for newer titles to drop slighty, Play, Amazon, Zavvi, Hmv all have various deals, just play a waiting game and save ££££££££££'s. Dvd collection has grown to over £2000 with some very rare titles and blu-rays around 40-50 all less than £10.

 

[lobby]

Yes ive spent £2000 at carboot sales total of over 3000 films over the last few years, yet if i where to sell them i could make a fortune, but i can't part with them as a lot of them are deleted and hard to come by.

 

[Anonymous]

For me Picture quality is the overriding factor

I neither have nor want surround sound...the emphasis being on clear dialogue...not groundshaking rumbles and bullets flying all around you..in my view all that kind of stuff is gratuitous compared to to a top notch picture...I hear through my stereo amp and monitor audio's and am more than happy with the stuff that comes out of them

 

[Clare Newsome]

Tallyho:
For me Picture quality is the overriding factor

I neither have nor want surround sound...the emphasis being on clear dialogue...not groundshaking rumbles and bullets flying all around you..in my view all that kind of stuff is gratuitous compared to to a top notch picture...I hear through my stereo amp and monitor audio's and am more than happy with the stuff that comes out of them

Surround sound isn't just about the whizz-bang- it's about a true cinematic experience, including atmospherics, score,and - yes - dialogue, the latter largely through the dedicated centre channel.

HD Audio brings you benefits in every area of sonic performance- from clarity to special effects.

I'd also argue that other than with poor-quality Blu-rays (still the minority), the picture quality is far superior than DVD, even with the best upscaling.

But, if you're happy with your set-up, that's fine - at the end of the day, that's what matters most!

 

[Anonymous]

i spent around £17 for the new harry potter film on blu-ray upset me to pay that much as i have all the other potter films on hd-dvd & they only cost £2.99 each, i miss the hd-dvd bargin films

 

[Frank Harvey]

But let's be fair, the HD-DVD prices were because it was a dead format. And very rarely did we get anything better than DD+.

As for the prices, DVD is on it's way out. Low manufacturing costs, lower standards of mastering etc etc.

Granted, not all Blurays are showing the format off at it's best, but 95% of them do look better than their DVD counterpart - although the difference is somewhat diminished on screens smaller than 40". I just can't bring myself to part with ANY cash for a DVD nowadays, as I'd be wondering what it should've looked like.....

 

[hammill]

Amazon will sell you the first 6 HP Blu-Rays for just over £38. A little over £6 a disc seems like a good deal to me

 

[Frank Harvey]

£33 on Play - that's £5.50 each! Cheaper than the DVD......

 

[Anonymous]

I generally agree with the "upscaling" argument, bluray is the better format for video and audio but the gap on audio over dvd is small ( some users of other forums have said they can't hear the difference on some discs at all ), where the price difference is often huge.

When i first read a review of next gen audio on bluray the reviewer described the experience as similar to the difference between pro logic and dolby digital, that reviewer should be flogged. The new formats improve the audio experience but it's remarkably subtle at best, night and day it ain't and some people feel a little short changed by the experience.

My testing ground for the above conclusion is 28 weeks later, 3.10 to yuma, Sunshine, 30 days of night, Apocalypto and Die hard 4.0, i own them on dvd and bluray. The video is better ( though the upscaled dvd's were great to look at ) and the audio is slightly improved with the bluray discs, but here's the rub, the blurays were two for £20 on sale, the dvd's were two for £5.

Hi Fi and home cinema as a hobby has always offered the diminishing returns principle in spades and sometimes you can justify it to yourself, sometimes you can't. I can't generally justify the considerable extra outlay for bluray over dvd

 

[Frank Harvey]

Perceived differences.

Some people's systems may show a big difference between SD and HD audio formats, other people's may not. As good as a DVD can sound, I'm sure I'd be able to show you quite a large difference between the formats with something like Sunshine or Die Hard 4.0.

 

[unfocused]

FrankHarveyHiFi: As for the prices, DVD is on it's way out.

I don't know about that. For a lot of people the price is the only concern. I only have one friend who has hi-fi / AV separates. I know people who have bought a panel TV and have their DVD player connected with scart cables. I tell them about HDMI and they say 'It looks fine to me, why should I buy another cable?' The majority of consumers in this country want convience over quality. People like us are the minority. Sure blu-ray looks great and I've seen lots of in store displays but when the average shopper says 'I need another player, and the discs are more expensive, why bother?' People have lots of other pulls on their money these days. The music buisness tried to kill off vinyl records but they're still around.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I have to admit that when I brought my blu ray player I said to myself I would continue to buy dvd.

But have found myself always buying blu ray and trying to get the best deals possible.

The only time I look at dvd's now is if they are not out on blu ray.

 

[Frank Harvey]

unfocused: FrankHarveyHiFi: As for the prices, DVD is on it's way out. I don't know about that. For a lot of people the price is the only concern. I only have one friend who has hi-fi / AV separates. I know people who have bought a panel TV and have their DVD player connected with scart cables. I tell them about HDMI and they say 'It looks fine to me, why should I buy another cable?' The majority of consumers in this country want convience over quality. People like us are the minority. Sure blu-ray looks great and I've seen lots of in store displays but when the average shopper says 'I need another player, and the discs are more expensive, why bother?' People have lots of other pulls on their money these days. The music buisness tried to kill off vinyl records but they're still around. My main point was that Bluray is a format to replace DVD, and that in that respect, DVD is on it's way out. It is still a strong force due to price I agree, but with falling costs comes falling quality - there are some pretty bad quality ones out there among the good ones.

Admittedly I watch mine on a projector, so a bad DVD will stand out more to me, but I was unhappy with DVD for a long time before Bluray came along and highlighted the main issues I had with the format even more.

 

[ElectroMan]

lobby:Yes ive spent £2000 at carboot sales total of over 3000 films over the last few years, yet if i where to sell them i could make a fortune, but i can't part with them as a lot of them are deleted and hard to come by.

That's a lot films - how do you find the time to watch them?

 

[lobby]

Some ive seen some i haven't, but im slowing down now, more a less got all the older and deleted titles i want, just planning on buying blu-rays. The problem is you get addicted and 20p to £1.00 it's loose change, i watch a film every night no tv programmes in my house except sport and X-factor at moment. it only works out around 10-15 pounds a week spent and it's very enjoyable, some films i have double of do go on Ebay and fetch quite a bit. As prices drop i will evenually replace my favourites, but i still intend to buy more dvds's. Last week i picked Gran Torino, Frost and Nixon, Wrestler, Twilight, Body of lies to name a few all for £1.00 each, now tell any shop that can beat that. I never rent anymore, it's not worth it to me, and used discs from shops and online tend to be far worst then used ones at bootsales, and cost around £2.50 a time plus hassel with posting and extra journey's to shops.

 

[professorhat]

bendip:When i first read a review of next gen audio on bluray the reviewer described the experience as similar to the difference between pro logic and dolby digital, that reviewer should be flogged. The new formats improve the audio experience but it's remarkably subtle at best, night and day it ain't and some people feel a little short changed by the experience.

My testing ground for the above conclusion is 28 weeks later, 3.10 to yuma, Sunshine, 30 days of night, Apocalypto and Die hard 4.0, i own them on dvd and bluray. The video is better ( though the upscaled dvd's were great to look at ) and the audio is slightly improved with the bluray discs, but here's the rub, the blurays were two for £20 on sale, the dvd's were two for £5.

I'm literally astonished by this post! I can almost understand "the picture isn't that much better than upscaled DVD" argument (almost, I can't really understand it, but I've heard it enough to see that a lot of people think it's true), but to say that the improvement in audio is subtle at best I honestly find astonishing, especially since titles such as 3:10 To Yuma and Apocalypto are cited as examples and boast some of the most stunning soundtracks I've heard.

Horses for courses I guess, but if you have an HD audio capable system and can't appreciate the upgrade in sound on films like these (and I honestly don't mean any offence by this) then you really ought to stick to DVD because if that's truly the case, then the Blu-Ray is waste of money for you.

 

[Anonymous]

Mmmm. Very interesting thread. I pretty much agree 100% with what the prof has said above. For me blu-ray has a better picture than dvd. The PQ on some blu-rays are fantastic but I think on the majority of them its a much more subtle improvement, and one which isn't worth paying three times the price of a dvd for (or even 50% more).

Sound quality is another matter altogether. I have sat and watched some blu-ray's with a smile on my face that couldn't be wiped off due to the amazing sound quality that blu-ray gives me (and dvd doesn't).

I wonder if some people are watching blu-ray audio in Dolby Digital rather than the higher rated formats? I know the dark knight audio defaults to DD for example and if you didn't know to adjust it manually you would prob just watch it and wonder what the fuss is all about.

Now for some people (let me cite my parents as an example) blu-ray would just not be worth it. To them price and ease of use is everything and quality is ok as long as it doesn't cost more, or make it more difficult to use. They still buy movies on VHS tape because they can get them for less than £2. Me trying to convince them they should be paying even a tenner for a disc just wont wash. If a good film came out and was available on VHS tape for £2, DVD for £4, and blu-ray for £8, I would not hesitate to buy the blu-ray. My parents though would buy the tape. Cos its cheaper!

 

[lobby]

Well tell them to go to car bootsales and pick dvds up for less than a pound, ive picked up plenty for my parents like Dirty dancing Mamma Mia, Titantic, Notting hill, Pretty woman, Ladies in lavender, Maid in manhattan, The Colour purple, The Bodyguard, Hairspray, along with musicals and War films and Westerns for dad. Videos at car bootsales sell for less than 10p and some cases ive seen a whole box of 50 tapes for 50p. Entertainment does have to be expensive, just addictive.

 

[Anonymous]